The invention relates to a device for connecting a camera lens to a movie camera.
EP 0 942 305 A1 discloses a control system for a camera lens that is fastened on a lens mount of a movie camera with the aid of its lens fastening means. The control system includes a number of drive units for automatically setting desired positions of three lens rings via which the picture definition (focus), the shutter aperture of the iris diaphragm and the focal length (zoom) of the camera lens can be set. The lens rings are provided with an apparatus for determining the actual state of the positions of the lens ring, which determines the actual position of the lens rings relative to the camera lens, converts them into output measurement signals and, in particular, is designed in a contactless fashion as an optoelectronic angle sensor with a coding disk that is connected fixedly in terms of rotation to the respective lens ring and has a number of coding tracks and optotransmitters and optoreceivers arranged on both sides of the coding disk, or is designed as a magnetoresistive magnetic sensor and is integrated in the camera lens.
Transmitting the determined actual states of the lens ring positions to the movie camera via a standardized electric interface with a standardized lens fastening means and a standardized lens mount (PL mount) is known from the company publication “ARRIFLEX 435 ADVANCED” of Arnold & Richter Cinetechnik.
For the purpose of processing the acquired actual state of the lens ring positions and thus of the values, set at the camera lens, for the focus, the iris setting and the zoom, as well as of inputting desired values and outputting control commands to the drive units that can be coupled to the lens rings, EP 0 574 105 A1 discloses a modular control system for a movie camera in the case of which a control and regulation part with a position encoder is integrated in each drive unit and is connected via a digital data input and data output as well as a serial control and data bus to a manual control unit that has a memory module for recording setting values for prescribable camera and lens functions, such as shooting frequency, focal length, range, shutter, zone boundaries and scaling, as well as adjustment profiles of the frequency, zoom, focus and/or iris settings, in which setting values or adjustment profiles can be read, and from which they can be read out for a reproduction sequence or to restore previously noted settings.
Instead of a serial control and data bus for connecting the drive units and position sensors, which are coupled to the lens rings, to the manual control units for the purpose of inputting desired values, it is possible, in accordance with EP 0 910 814 B1 for a camera-side control and data acquisition unit that is electrically connected to a number of devices that control and detect camera and/or recording functions to be connected via a bidirectional radiotransceiver unit to operator-side control units for inputting control data and transmitting control signals for the purpose of controlling the camera and/or recording functions and thus also for setting a camera lens.
Since the application of the control system known from EP 0 942 305 A1 for a camera lens of a movie camera requires a camera lens with an integrated data memory and position sensors for detecting the actual states of the zoom, focus and iris settings of the camera lens, and a corresponding evaluation of the actual states and a standardized electric interface with a standardized lens fastening means and a standardized lens mount (PL mount) of the movie camera, camera lenses without these position sensors and data memory integrated in the camera lens cannot be used to the full extent for the control system, and so they remain capable of only limited application to control systems such as are known from EP 0 574 105 A1 and EP 0 910 814 B1 in the case of which the actual values of the lens settings are detected via the drive units that can be pivoted on the lens rings of the camera lens and include position sensors, and are processed in the control and regulating units together with the prescribed desired values.